The Iron Bunny
by Blossom cat
Summary: GaLu brotp one-shots and drabbles. NaLu and GaLe may be mentioned throughout a few chapters.
1. Confessions

**A/N- I've decided to start this little series. I just don't see enough Lucy and Gajeel brotp stories and I would really like to see more, so maybe this can gain some attention to this underrated friendship. Though I already made a small oneshot on it, I just really want to wrote more on them because I feel they would have the coolest dynamic. Most of these will be small one shots and little drabbles.**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters.**

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**Summary- Gajeel suddenly pleads Lucy to help him out with confessing with Levy. She finds the idea hilarious but ultimately decides to help him. Having fun along the way as she does.**

**Genre- Humor, Friendship, Romance **

**Rating- K**

**Pairings- GaLe, slight Nalu**

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"Bunny girl, you have to help me." Gajeel stated quietly. He sat next to her at the bar while she read her book. Lucy was slightly irritated at the moment, she was reading a novel that Erza had lent her and she was just getting to the good part when he interrupted her. She was tempted to ignore him but the desperation laced into his voice raised a red flag. She set her book down rather harshly and turned to him.

She glared. "What?" Usually, Gajeel would act like he needed something but then would say something completely stupid and walk away. Thus wasting her time and bringing her out of her concentration. He just loved messing with her, like she constantly had a 'pick on me' sign in colorful lights plastered on her back. He scratched his cheek nervously and coughed. She raised a brow and patiently waited for him to continue.

"I need your help," He paused for a minute, every second evident from the ticking of the clock next to her. And as every second ticked by, the angrier she felt herself get. Seriously, if he was just messing with her, she'd kill him. "H-Help me with Levy..." He whispered. Her irritation faded instantly.

She knew he had a major crush on the bluenette. Although it was funny, it was also pretty pathetic. He stared at her from afar for hours and would get pissy when someone stood in front of his view from Levy. It was sad, she admitted. She pushed her book away as to not get distracted and she fully turned her body to his, to show him that she had his full attention.

"Go on." She said simply. She felt the need to tease him even when he was in this state. It wasn't like he never teased her about her apparently "non-existent" love life, his words, not hers. He groaned and grumbled. It seemed he was having a lot of trouble saying it. Which means it must be something juicy.

He suddenly grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the guild. All eyes on her, even Natsu's. He was busy fighting Gray but had stopped to watch as she got closer to the door. Before she turned back to the taller man, she noticed the dark aura that Natsu emitted, even scaring Gray slightly. Once they were outside, he let go of her hand.

They continued to walk until they made it to a small park. It was peaceful and vacant. They both planted themselves on a bench. She sighed and shook her head. Seriously, what was his deal? "Okay Gajeel, you dragged me out here. What is going on between you and Levy?"

"You gotta help me confess to her, bunny. I'm going to you of all people, I'm desperate." She rolled her eyes at his insult. She may not have a lot of experience in love but she did know Levy like the back of her hand. Of course she could help him confess. But will she make it easy for him? Hell no.

"Okay, you want some help? Sure!"

...

"I feel like you're just trying to embarrass me." Gajeel grumbled. Lucy giggled softly and brushed back his mangled hair. She squeaked and fell back, standing back up, she noticed the broken brush. Sighing, she set it down with the two others that broke and pulled out another one. When was the last time he brushed this? It was a mess!

"Don't be such a whiny baby. If you want to confess, you gotta look the part." She took a break and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She had gotten to the middle, since she had started from the bottom. Before she started she figured his hair would be atrocious and got three bottles of detangling spray. She had gone through two bottles already. Gajeel crossed his arms and landed back.

"Then why the hell is he here?" The long haired man said, motioning to the pink haired dragon slayer laying on her bed. They were currently at her apartment, she figured they would have peace and quiet. But of course Natsu barged just as she was spraying the detangler in, she wanted to laugh when he almost fainted from the strong smell. She continued to brush through his hair. Cutting his split ends.

"He barged in here all the time. Unannounced if I might add!" She raised her voice towards the end and glared at the slayer. He just pouted and crossed his arms over his wide chest. Lucy knew he was going to say something she wasn't going to like.

"Why'd you invite metal breath before inviting me?" He asked.

"Well for one he doesn't barge in through my window every night. And for two, I'm helping his confess to Levy as I've said a million times before. This is something important." She nodded when she finally got through all his hair. She didn't know whether to put it up or not. She'll just ask him. She patted his shoulder. He looked up and she smiled.

"Do you want me to put it up or do you want it down." He unconsciously ran a hand through his hair, feeling the soft strands flow through his hands easily. He thought back to that party after defeating those seven dragons during the Grand Magic Games.

"Low ponytail." He said simply. She laughed happily and called out Cancer. "What's with the crab?" He asked. Lucy rubbed the back of her head nervously.

"I'm not as good with putting up others hair. I usually have Cancer do all my hair chores anyway, but don't worry, he's great with hair!" She encouraged. Gajeel trusted her judgment and let the weird crab style his hair. But before hand, Lucy had asked the spirit to mess with Gajeel and put it in several wild styles before getting the one he wanted. Gajeel was angry, but couldn't help the smile that came to his face. Before Cancer finally gave him the look he want, Lucy stopped him.

"What now?" Gajeel scoffed.

"Here Cancer, use this." She said as she took out her side ponytail and gave the crab the tie that held up her own hair. Cancer smiled and used the tie to finally put Gajeel's hair up. Natsu watched silently from Lucy's bed, seeing the smile that crossed the blondes face, he smiled a little too. It was like watching the girl next door get along with your other siblings. It was odd and different, but endearing.

"It looks good, bunny girl." The man grinned.

"Really with the nickna- you know what? I give up." She sighed. Both slayers laughed at her surrender.

...

"Now that you look the part, you have to act the part. Ease into the confession, don't just do it unexpectedly or Levy will get scared and panic. Y'know what I mean? Flirt a little before you make your grand confession, make her laugh or something." Lucy explained. Gajeel nodded and pulled on the tie that wrapped around his neck. Not only was his hair done, but Lucy provided him with an outfit. An annoying and constricting suit. She had brought him to an open field surrounded by nature.

"Why are we here?"

"Bring her here. This is her favorite place to visit when we go out to hang out. She loves the nature. Okay, now that you have a place picked out, I want you to try and confess to me as if I'm Levy." Gajeel coughed on his saliva. There was no way he could do that! It was like confessing to a sister. This would be way too weird for him. He looked away for a moment, gulping.

He just had to suck it up and do it. "So, bunny- Levy! Nice weather?" She stared blankly at the man before busting out laughing. He growled and turned to stomp away, but she grabbed his arm and pulled him back. He was angry, but not enough to get out of her grip.

"I know it's hard pretending I'm Levy but try not to look so constipated and uncomfortable. It'll make her uncomfortable and want to get out of the situation. Now try again." He bit his lip, feeling heat rush to his cheeks. Was he really going to do this?

"Levy, did I ever tell you about the time that salamander got his ass handed to bunny girl?" He bagan to flow smoothly with the story, like he was actually talking to Levy. Once he finished, he looked into the blondes eyes as if she were the solid solid script mage. "Anyway, I wanted to tell you something important, Lev. I know I just acted like everything is normal but it's kind of hard to just casually put this into a regular conversation. I've felt this way for a long time now and I feel like you have the right to know. You were the one that brought me out of my darkness and I was able to make friends at Fairy tail, I was able to think about life in a different light, other than a waste time. I was able to fall in love with a shrimp like you. Thank you." He finished softly.

Lucy had tears running down to her face once he finished. She wiped them and gave him a watery smile. "That was beautiful Gajeel. I didn't know you had it in you." He mumbled something incoherent and looked away from her with a blush. "I'm happy to tell you that Levy heard every word." He froze and turned to the blue haired girl as she came out from behind a tree. Her smiling face, wiping her own wet face.

"H-How? I would of smelled you!" She held up an empty bottle.

"It takes away scents. I made it just for you since I knew that I couldn't sneak around without being caught." Lucy noticed how red Gajeel's face was and took that as her cue to leave. She gave Gajeel's upper arm an encouraging squeeze before running back to Natsu who took her back to the guild. Levy clasped her hands behind her and smiled softly, recalling what he had said about her. Gajeel was speechless, he knew that bunny girl was mean but how could she be that heartless. He wasn't prepared at all.

"S-So you heard all that huh?" Levy nodded. Suddenly, tears streamed down her face again. Gajeel panicked and bent down to her level and tried to comfort her. "Don't cry Levy! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset!" The biggest smile he had ever seen came to her face and hugged him. He stood there frozen for a moment, just listening to her sniffles.

"Gajeel, I love you too!" He was incredibly happy right now. Like he was on cloud nine, maybe her hiding behind a tree wasn't so bad after all. She loved him back, and all this was made possible by the bunny girl. He found himself thinking incredibly fondly of the blonde now, new found respect for the mage. She helped him while still having her own problems with the salamander.

"Thank you Lucy." He whispered, knowing words couldn't even describe how thankful he was.


	2. Competitive

**Summary- Makarov had gotten the guild a lacrima video game player and TV for a more fun way to train. Lucy had already had a little experience with each game, so it was only natural to come out on top of everyone. But unknowingly, Gajeel had also a lot of training. Gajeel challenged her to a match, watching her competitive side come out.**

**Genre- Humor**

**Rating- K**

**Pairing- Nalu (if you squint)**

**Now this story is loosely based off some fanart I saw of Gajeel and Lucy playing video games. Unfortunately I do not have the artists name, but I would just like to give them some credit for their amazing art work.**

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"Listen up you brats!" Master Makarov announced throughout the guild hall. Lucy was busy talking to Natsu about their next job when she looked up from her spot. It seemed he got their attention pretty quickly. "I want to introduce you all to the new and updated lacrima play station. This is for training purposes only so don't think you can just come up here and play this whenever you want!" Mira tore off the large cover over the TV and showed it off like she was part of one of those game shows.

Lucy looked at the set and gasped. She remembered playing something like that as a kid! Though this version was updated pretty well, everything seemed to be about the same. When she was around ten, she would go to a gaming store. Though the place didn't get every many customers as no one really knew it cared about lacrima video games. The store owner would let her play from sunrise to sunset.

She knew she had to be the first to try it. Before anyone could even get up, she raced to the game set and grabbed a controller and turned on the lacrima TV and play station. She looked through the games that the master had tossed around and picked up the one she knew best. It was a battling game, the same version as the one she played as a kid. Though she never thought of that game as training, how the master considered it training baffled her. She figured he just wanted an excuse to buy it.

Everyone watched her as she placed the disc in and watched the game load. Everyone gave Lucy and odd expression, mentally asking themselves how she knew what to do. Lucy stood and smiled darkly at everyone that gazed at her. "Who wants to challenge me?" Erza stepped forward and grabbed the other controller. Erza gave her a look of determination.

"I shall challenge you Lucy, but just so you know, I won't go easy on you." The requip mage stated darkly. The blonde only chuckled and hunched over as she sat.

"I would be insulted if you did." She picked her favorite character. It was a small fox girl. She looked cute and innocent, but Lucy learned long ago that she was by far the strongest character. Erza chose a large beast that resembled a hyena. The game started on the count of three, Lucy immediately going into action.

Lucy controlled the fox girl to move under the beast, as foxes were known for being sly and quick. She was able to maneuver her character to repeatingly kick the beast in the back of the head. Erza counted by slamming the club her character was holding on the fox who dodged quickly. Erza couldn't have chosen the worst character for a small and quick character. While Erza was in panic mode, trying to defeat Lucy, the celestial mage was able to beat the the red head by lowing all of her character's health.

"I win!" Lucy laughed. Everyone's jaw was wide open, watching Erza sit there in shock for a moment. She then stood and bowed to Lucy who grinned widely. She may not be able to defeat Erza with her physical strength, but no one could best her in video games.

"You were amazing Lucy. You must teach me one day!" Erza said stiffly and walked away. Then there was a large crash heard a ways away. Erza had just destroyed a nearby table and walked out of the guild. While everyone shivered in fear, Lucy cackled. She expected that reaction, all her other opponents would either cry or run out the store with anger. Lucy set her hands on her hips proudly and challenged others.

"Okay, who's next!" Multiple people came up to her, confident in their own skill. But she always came out on top. Laxus, Gray, and even Natsu. They all lost to the fox girl. Natsu slammed his controller in the guild floor, almost breaking it. He turned to glare at Lucy.

"I've played you at least ten times, how are you beating me!" She stood next to him and flicked his nose. He yelped and rubbed it. "What was that for?!"

She shrugged condescendingly. "I'm just that good is all. I've been playing video games ever since I was a little girl, it's only natural that I'm better than everyone!" The guild rolled their eyes at her. Everyone was either in shock or just flat our angry. They just couldn't fathom Lucy being so skilled in something like video games. Natsu pursed his lips.

It was actually kind of cool of her...gah! What the hell was he thinking?! He stomped away and got in line to challenge her again. That's when someone stood and cut in line. The people in line yelled at the man to get to the back of the line, but he just ignored them.

"I've had some practice myself bunny girl. You want to challenge me?" Lucy looked up to see Gajeel, swallowing a hand full of screws. She smirked and tossed him the controller. He sat down on the platform next to her and then started the game. He chose the iron snake. Lucy narrowed her eyes, he actually chose a character that was on par with the fox girl.

So he did know what he was doing. Fine, more fun for her when she beats him. She watched the game countdown in anticipation. Gajeel was relaxed, how could he be so laid back?! He was the most competitive person he had ever met besides Natsu of course. Seeing how she has one every game, he should be pissing his pants.

The game started. She immediately went to attack his snake with a dropped bomb. Once it blew up in his area, she chuckled. Of course that didn't do anything, the damn snake was iron. It was good for him to think she was stupid against an opponent like the iron snake.

Her character managed to hit the snake once before Gajeel started pushing down buttons in his controller. Suddenly, her fox was being thrown around by the snake's tail! She gasped and did her own little power move to get out of the iron grip, pun intended. Behind her, multiple people were cheering. A lot for her, but most for Gajeel since she kind of pissed everyone off. She sucked in a breath and used a powerup to use acid and melt his iron scales.

"Come on Luce! Kill him!" Natsu cheered. She smiled softly, even if she won against him every single time he challenged her, he stayed loyal to his mission partner.

"Gajeel! Go go Gajeel!" A petite voice chanted.

"Levy-chan!" Lucy whined.

"Sorry, but you were mean the last time we played." Lucy scoffed and turned back to her game to concentrate. Lucy was going to lose, she could feel it. She was determined to keep her winning streak. Even if it involves blatant cheating, she wasn't ashamed, she wanted to win. She smashed her hand up against Gajeel's cheek to try and distract him.

"You're cheating!" The guild screamed. Lucy ignored them and pushed on his face until he was half way on the ground. He didn't give up though, much to Lucy's dismay. She growled and suddenly grabbed his controller from out of his hand and held it from him. He yelled out for her to give it back, reaching for it.

She was able to play and keep it out of his hands. She was able to get her fox girl to strangle the snake until all of its health diminished. When the screen lit up with her character winning, she smiled and gave the controller back to him.

"What the fuck bunny girl, you blatantly cheated!" He yelled as he threw down the device. Lucy sniffled and wiped her nose with a sly smile. Of course she felt a little bad about doing that, but she was hell bent of having an unbreakable winning streak. A stupid iron snake wasn't going to stop her from that. Gajeel should of known that she would pull something like that, her character was a fox after all.

"What can I say? I'm a competitive gamer."


	3. I'll protect her too

**Summary- A quiet night looking at the stars with Lucy reminded Gajeel just how much he wanted to protect the blonde he grew to befriend.**

**Genre- Friendship, Family, Hurt/Comfort (but only a tad)**

**Rating- K**

**Pairings- None**

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Lucy had him jump on the guild's roof and bring her up too. He declined at first, stating that he didn't want to die by Erza, but the blonde was pretty convincing when she wanted to be. He sighed and grabbed her hand. She was smiling the whole time, which was confusing to him. He hoisted her up, she was pretty light he admitted.

"Wow, have you gained weight." He deadpanned. Losing her smile, she smacked the back of his head.

"Shut up!" Natsu had told him just how fun it was to tease the celestial mage. He told him that she would make the funniest faces when irritated, that was the first time in his life that he agreed with the salamander. She always scrunched up her nose and bared her teeth like an animal. Then her chin would quiver in irritation and her eyes would narrow.

He and her positioned themselves on the side of the building and looked up to the sky. He was confused, why did she want to bring him up here? Last time he checked, he had no interest in the stars. She turned to him and gave him a small smile. To which he couldn't help but return.

"I know you're probably baffled right now," well that was the understatement of the year. "But I wanted to show you my connection to my magic. I know that you really have no interest but I want you to know that I'll always listen to your interests and be engaged by showing you some of mine." Gajeel sighed. He didn't really get the point but he really didn't get anything she did.

"Why?"

"Why?" She thought about the question for a moment before laughing softly. "Well, because I want us to be good friends. Even closer, like siblings. I want you to know that you can just come up here with me if you have any problems that you want to talk about. And I wanted to tell you...that I forgive you for everything you did back at Phantom Lord. I never really got to tell you that properly, so I wanted to make it clear, sorry" He sucked in a breath. Ah, Phantom Lord. The nightmares he'll experience just by those two words are unexplainable. Why was she apologizing to him? He's the one that's sorry.

"I should be apologizing, bunny girl. I was the one that beat the shit out of you." She clasped her hands in her lap and studied them.

"Yeah. I guess you did, but you changed. You're more involved with people so I want to take advantage of that and teach you about the constellations!" She changed the subject pretty quickly. He decided to drop the subject and look up at the stars.

"Oh yeah?" He said notchantly.

She scooted closer to him and pointed at a combination of stars. "You see that one? That's Canis Minor which is my spirit Plue. You know the one, the dog." He nodded absentmindedly. He considered that spirit more of a cat with a snowman head. He paid as much attention as he could as she pointed to a constellation and told him what spirit was, even describing it. He listened to her intently and kept all this information in the back of his mind.

"What's yours?"

"My what?"

"Constellation, or Zodiac sign I guess." She hummed and tapped on her chin before smiling brightly. She nodded at what he was getting at and grabbed a pen from her key ring bag. It was a pen that allowed her to write in the air. She started to draw dots and connected them with lines. He stared at it for a moment, she stayed quiet.

"Cancer?" He said slowly, looking towards her as he guessed. She clapped her hands and nodded.

"Yup, that's right! I was born July first so my Zodiac sign is Cancer!" He felt a smile grace his lips as she kept talking. They turned back to the sky and studied it more. He still listened as her voice started to get less enthusiastic. Eventually she stopped talking all together, baffling the dragon slayer. He looked next to him to see the blonde sleeping.

He chuckled before staring back at the sky and guessing each constellation that Lucy taught him. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. No wonder she was so kind to her spirits. Her innocence and kindness knew no bounds. And her interest in the subject was so wide spread and honestly addicting.

He'd pay attention all day if she were a teacher. Her voice just wasn't boring. He stared at the girl next to him and felt his eyes soften. She didn't belong in such a cruel world, she was like an angel living in hell. He promised that he was going to protect her and the guild. He may be fairly new to the guild, but everyone was just so warm and kind to him even after what he did.

He was surprised Lucy hadn't slapped him the moment she saw him. But she forgave him just like Levy did, just like Jet and Droy did eventually. He didn't deserve them, the guild he means. But he was going to make it up to them for every atrocity that he committed. He'll start with Levy and Lucy.

Those two were best friends after all. Inseparable, so he chose to protect them both if danger was to come. Lucy was like the little sister he never had and he always wanted siblings when he was really young so the celestial mage was the best thing he had. He brushed a strand of her hair away from her face.

He didn't care if the salamander was her mission partner, he would do his best to protect her too. For the firre dragon slayer, and for himself as well.


	4. Bunny suit

**Summary- This is the story of how Gajeel came up with the nickname 'bunny girl.' Lucy is not amused.**

**Genre- Humor, Friendship**

**Rating- K+**

**Pairings- None**

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"When you said that you wanted to go on a mission with me, this is not what I had in mind!" The celestial mage screamed. Gajeel chuckled and held up the bunny costume and grinned widely at the blonde. Lucy slapped the outfit away and glared at the man. She pursed her lips and pouted to him. When he said that he had a mission that suited her needs, she didn't think he meant this.

They were in a large dressing room full of different outfits and snacks provided on a table. She had tried eating one. But it seemed it was stale, like it had been sitting there for months waiting for someone to finally step foot in that room. They were currently in a small town, very, very small town. And they were inside a concert hall, going to perform.

And there were at least one hundred people out there, the whole town. Though she was slightly nervous just from the audience, she was especially nervous from what Gajeel had in mind for her outfit. She couldn't believe he wanted her to hop around in a bunny suit while he sang with his guitar. She would be a laughing stock! And the worst part was that Mira made them set up a lacrima so that everyone at the guild could watch.

She got so excited too. She thought they were going to fight some monster for Gajeel, but also needed a celestial wizard for whatever. He grabbed the outfit again and held it out to her. She growled and pushed it away. He furrowed his brows and grabbed her hand. She flinched, waiting for him to try something.

He planted the cloth in her hands and pushed her into a changing room. "Get ready blondie. We have ten minutes." He cackled. She sat there for a moment, moth wide open as she stared at herself in the mirror. Finally snapping out of it, she put on the suit but grumbling about how stupid the iron dragon slayer was. She shook her head. Then she shimmied the tight fabric over her hips.

"Get ready blondie. Blah blah blah..." She mumbled, trying to imitate his deep voice. How dare that man make a fool out of her! She wouldn't allow this to go on any longer. When they're done with this mission, she is going to give that brat a piece of her mind. She grudgingly placed the bunny ears on her head and looked in the mirror.

If it wasn't for the reward, she would of hightailed it out of here by now. Two million. Two million jewels to preform three songs of Gajeel's choice, they didn't even care when she mentioned just how bad his singing voice was. They just wanted to have a bit of fun. She guessed she could understand it though, it would probably be boring living out here in the middle of nowhere.

She just wished it didn't have to be so embarrassing. Why a bunny costume? Hell, she would dance in anything but this costume. Why couldn't he suggest a cute dress that matches his outfit, it would of looked a hell of a lot better. She puffed her cheeks up and stared at her scantily clad body in the suit.

Now she really was a bunny. It wasn't horrible she had to admit but it was still so weird. She felt herself sigh shakingly when she gazed at the tail placed on the back of her tailbone. She hoped there were no perverts out there. Hell, she doubted it, they all looked so old-fashioned.

Which is another reason why this was a horrible idea. They would never condone this wear. She came there in a mini skirt and tank top and they either stared at her in disgust or shock. Gajeel probably didn't notice though, the oblivious idiot. Just like that damn pyro.

She stepped out and crossed her arms over her chest. Gajeel gave her a once over and smiled with a head nod. She scoffed and noticed his own outfit. It was a black suit that had gray horizontal stripes down both the shirt and pants. His shoes were black and his tie was green. She stared in bewilderment.

Their outfits didn't even match in color! Her suit was red while she had on black high heels and black bunny ears. He couldn't have even bothered to make them at least look a like a team. She blew a raspberry, finally giving up. What was the use?

"Ready, blondie?" He smiled wickedly and grabbed his guitar and tugged on her wrist, bring her out of the dusty curtains. Everyone cheered and watched and Gajeel sat down and tuned his guitar for one moment. He tapped on the microphone and laughed into it loudly, gaining a loud cheer from their audience. He turned to her while she stood awkwardly behind beside him a few feet back. She blinked at him, she had never seen the grumpy man that happy before.

It warmed her heart. Knowing that he wasn't all that annoyed from her presence after all. She sighed, she guessed she could go with this. If it made him smile like that, it would be worth it. "I'm ready Gajeel." She giggled lightly.

"Good!"

She started to move as best she could to the flow of the music. Although it was weird and awkward, the crowd ate it up. They didn't even care that they couldn't understand a single word the iron dragon slayer said. Their happy smiling faces brought a large smile onto her own lips. The lacrima they set up allowed her to see her friends as she danced too.

They were all laughing at her (mainly Natsu) but she was enjoying herself. She didn't have to fight and she was going to get a million jewels by the way the job was going. The joke was really on them, the poor saps! Once Gajeel finished the three songs he was told to sing, they both grabbed each others hands and bowed to the audience. They went back behind the curtains and found their own articles of clothing and slipped them on.

Lucy stared at the bunny costume and then started to laugh. That was the first time she had ever worn something as weird as that, but she was okay with it odd enough. She folded it and put it in her purse. The mayor said they could keep the outfits if they wanted to she was going to do just that. If someone were to tell her that she kept that before preforming on stage, she would of laughed in their face.

Both her and Gajeel stepped out the back door and was immediately berated by tons of villagers. Gajeel humbly accepted all the praise and even signed some autographs for some eager fans. The women even swooned over him, they all changed a lot from the old-fashioned style they had before she and Gajeel showed up. Multiple children came up to her with a pen and paper and asked her to sign the paper too. She giggled and compiled.

"Yay! Mommy, look! The bunny girl is gonna sign my diary!" A little girl stated to her mother. She chuckled nervously at the mention of 'bunny girl', but ultimately let it slide. But it seemed the nickname didn't just stop at the child. Even the grown men and women referred to her as the bunny girl. Lucy rubbed the back of her head.

She looked up at the tall dragon slayer who grinned mischievously. He must of gotten wind of what the villagers were saying. She had a super bad feeling about this. She ignored the raging feeling while they talked to the mayor. He gladly gave them their reward and sent the two mages on their way.

Since this small town wasn't too far away from Magnolia, they decided to just walk back. Gajeel sent a small look towards the small celestial mage below him. He tried holding in his laughter as best he could. The only thing he imagined while she was walking was two bunny ears bouncing with her movements. Her puffy cheeks and large innocent eyes didn't help his case further.

They made it back in a hours walk, Lucy stopping suddenly. He turned to her, watching her gaze behind her for a moment. "I think I'm just gonna go a head and go home. It's sunset already and I'm sure Natsu waiting for me to cook him something. Ugh, that man..." she sighed. She looked up to him with a smile and pat his arm. "Thank you for the mission. It was embarrassing, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself."

He nodded and pat her head in return. He started to walk away. Taking this as her cue to turn around, she started to walk away from the long haired man as well. She stopped when she heard his loud cackle boom throughout the quiet area. She turned her head to see that same amused smile he had when he sung.

"That's right! I'll see you around...bunny girl!"

She's going to kill him.


	5. Reactions

**Summary- Lucy goes up to ask Gajeel about Natsu's density. Gajeel shines some pretty embarrassing (for Natsu) light on the situation.**

**Genre- Humor, Romance, Friendship **

**Rating- T**

**Pairings- Nalu**

* * *

Lucy plopped down across from Gajeel as he ate his Iron peacefully in the back of the guild, it was his spot after all. Away from everyone with a broken light hanging above him, making it dark. Lucy thought it was pretty emo of him to do, but who was she to judge. She waited until he finished his last bite. She knew he hated being bothered while he ate.

He licked his dry lips and gave the blonde a bored look, with a hint of annoyance. She sat there in patience until he spoke up. She still didn't know if he wanted more or something. Gajeel sighed and rubbed his temples. The troubled look on the celestial mage's face was giving him stress.

It always seemed when she stressed out, so did he. It was a connection thing they shared, being...friends and all. He worried for her, and she was the one that came to him and Levy with most of her problems. He had asked why she did once and she just told him that they were great listeners. Gray would be awkward about it, Erza would just suggest to beat up or conceal the feeling, and she just chose not to tell Natsu.

Since he was the root of most of her problems. The stupid pyro always had her angry, flustered, or just flat our stressed. And he didn't even know it! Lucy came to Gajeel with her confusions, to which Gajeel was kind of happy for. He thought it was good to finally be needed for something other than beating up someone else. Lucy looked up at him and he nodded, telling her it was okay to talk.

"Gajeel, can you tell me why Natsu is so damn dense?!" Well he wasn't expecting that outburst. He leaned back from her shrill voice and covered his ears. She realized her mistake and apologized to him. He slumped forward again and gave the blonde a once over. She seemed really upset, he must of done something. Again.

"What did he do this time?"

"Nothing, that's the problem!" He raised a pierced eyebrow and allowed her to elaborate. "I-I come out of the kitchen and trip and fall right at him. You know how that goes, I get all flushed and start freaking out. He looks at me for a moment before just continuing a conversation with me and lifts me back up. Dammit, it's frustrating, I could go up and kiss that dumbass and he wouldn't even bat an eye!" Gajeel shook his head. Lucy was just as dense if not more so as the stupid fire mage. They both were obviously pining after each other but neither of them could tell the other was. He should probably tell her before she actually starts to walk around naked.

"Not a smart move bunny girl. You'd probably kill the salamander that way." Lucy stopped her mumbling and looked up to him. She narrowed her eyes, he knew she wouldn't understand a single thing. He sighed irritably, mentally preparing himself to explain. The salamander was probably going to kill him but he was sick of their stupid shit. It was gross and annoying.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked.

"You see bunny girl," he sighed loudly. "Natsu has been training himself to not "react" too much around you since you freak out so much like that. He told me it's because he doesn't want to make you uncomfortable. Trust me when I say, as a dragon slayer, it is probably taking everything he has not to jump you when you trip like that. Or when you dress like that." He motioned to her very...breezy clothing. Lucy was red by now, holding her steaming face. Gajeel chuckled and covered his mouth in amusement. He figured this would be her reaction, she was shy about Natsu after all.

She turned away and held her burning cheek. "He doesn't have to train himself...I wouldn't mind...I wouldn't think he was creepy at all." Gajeel resisted the urge to gag. He wanted to be a supportive friend to the blonde and mess the with salamander, it was a win win situation. So he had to keep his cool or he wouldn't get the outcome he was hoping for. He crossed his arms on the table and looked at her. She hummed when she noticed his stare.

"Then why don't you tell him and get it over with?"

"I-I couldn't do that. I'd die from embarrassment!" He rolled his eyes. That's when he saw a gleam in the blonde's eyes. A smirk came to her face. He really didn't like the look in her eyes. He felt for the fire dragon slayer, he had a feeling that she was going to torture him. "But..."

"Whatever you're thinking..." Gajeel warned.

"Maybe I can make him admit it! Make him tell me that he reacts internally when I get near him!" Heads were turned from her words, odd expressions placed on their face. Gajeel groaned. That was not the message he was trying to get across! "I'll see you later Gajeel! Thanks for the advice!" She ran out if the guild, so fast that fire was left in her tracks. Gajeel chuckled nervously.

Natsu was probably going to kill him. The pink haired man had sworn Gajeel to never tell a soul about what he told him, and Gajeel had just informed the one person that should know that information the least. The long haired man shrugged. Well, he'll just sit back and watch what happens, Lucy is pretty entertaining after all.

It was around an hour when the guild doors were slammed open dangerously. Even hitting Gray in the face as the ice mage was trying to leave. Gray yelled at the man who dared hit him, but froze when he saw who it was. Natsu, and boy did he look angry...or flushed? Natsu sniffed the room, looking for someone.

He found Gajeel. The taller man took a look at the man by the guild doors and tried to hold in his laugh. Natsu looked incredibly angry, his face as red as Erza's hair. But it was pretty obvious the red from his face wasn't anger, but embarrassment. Mostly from the blonde celestial mage, now Gajeel wishes he knew what happened.

Natsu's whole body was coated in sweat while his body flushed uncomfortable. He rubbed his hand through his hair, still shaken up from the whole ordeal before stomping over to Gajeel. The guild watched as he slammed his hand down on the slayer's table in pure anger. Gajeel leaned back and gave Natsu a smirk. This only served to fuel the man's anger.

"We had a deal you iron eating prick!" The man screeched. Gajeel put his fingers in his ears. Salamander was pretty loud today, louder than normal. It was slightly annoying the black haired man had to admit. Gajeel glared at Natsu.

"She kept complaining that you weren't reacting so I told her what she wanted to hear. If anything you should be thanking me." Natsu sputtered and growled. His fist flamed.

"Thank you!? First she teased me about it and tried to get me to admit it, then when my face started to get like, like this!" He pointed to the redness. "She then cheered as she finally got me to "admit it"! This is why I didn't want to tell her. She'd either think I'm creepy or she'd mess with me!" Gajeel looked at the boy for a moment before finally breaking down and laughing. His voice gathering attention from the guild. Natsu scoffed and went to punch him, but thankfully for Gajeel, the embarrassment weakened his punch. He was able to catch it easily.

"Jesus salamander, that cracks me up. The reason she teased you for everything was because she didn't want to tell you that she wanted you to react to her being near. She was frustrated about how dense you seemed." Gajeel stated bluntly. Natsu finally stopped his movements and looked at Gajeel with confusion. He then planted on the ground from pure exhaustion. Gajeel looked down at the man. The redness was starting to dissipate.

"She's seriously going to be the death of me." The pierced mage sighed and looked at the defeated dragon slayer. He had his forearm over his eyes while he sighed loudly. The guild either chuckled at his antics or just stared. That's when Natsu's eyes widened and he hid behind Gajeel. "Shit! She's coming!" He squeaked.

"Come on Natsu! I was just teasing you, no need to run away." She giggled. She noticed pink hair above some of Gajeel and smirked. "Hey Gajeel I just want to thank you for all your help. You're the best!" The man grinned and nodded his head. Lucy popped her head on the side of Gajeel's head to look at Natsu.

"Lucy please, you already got me to say, or rather you saw me admit it. No more torture." Lucy laughed happily and chased him outside the guild. She turned back to look at Gajeel with a sly smirk.

"Gajeel, you just made my day. I love it when Natsu blushes!"


	6. He swears

**Summary- Gajeel and Lucy were faced with a pretty snarky and powerful enemy. That was the moment, trapped with no way out, Gajeel decided he cared more for the blonde than he originally thought **

**Genre- Hurt/Comfort, Tragedy, Friendship**

**Rating- T (swearing and such)**

**Parings- None**

* * *

Where was he?! Where was the Salamander when he needed him the most. Gajeel pulled on the glowing restraints that was binding him to the concrete. It was like they were made of pure, thick, energy. Everytime he pulled on them, they would only grow tighter, cutting into his wrist. He watched with cringe as the blood from his wrist trickled down his arm.

Lucy and Gajeel just wanted to hang out. They decided to go on a small mission and had just gotten back and decided to get lunch. Then this mage came out. Dressed in all black, magic swirled around his body. Before Gajeel could even react, the magic clamped around his arms and swung him back to a concrete wall.

It was like a magnet of some sorts. Lucy managed to dodge the attack that came to her but it was getting harder for her by the second, it was obvious she was getting tired. Why hasn't Natsu smelled them in danger yet? Gajeel shook his head, why would he let Salamander save them when he could do it himself. Lucy was hit with another magic attack.

"Lucy! Get out of here, I'll handle him!" Lucy turned to him was a ferocious glare. This startled Gajeel and he tensed while leaning back. Why was she so angry at him. He was only trying to look out for the blonde goddammit! She called out Virgo and allowed her to distract the mage while she pulled on Gajeel's restraints.

"I won't ever leave a comrade in danger! I don't give a shit if they're just as strong as gildarts! It's a cowardly move, and besides," She looked at him with a sad smile. "You're my friend Gajeel, I would never leave you behind. Because I'm a Fairy Tail mage, I care for my friends!" She groaned loudly as she could not rip off the magic. She suddenly called on her Cancer spirit. He went right to work when she asked him to cut the magic on his arms. Cancer tried, but ultimately failed. His scissors ruined.

"I apologize- ebi."

Lucy gave him a nod. "It's okay, not your fault. You can go back." He disappeared, Lucy then turning back to Virgo. That's when the pink haired spirit was hit, also crumbling away and back to the spirit realm. Lucy cursed loudly when the man used his thick magic to cut her arm. Gajeel was panicked now. Lucy was hurt, badly hurt.

"What the hell do you want from us!?" Gajeel turned to the man. The cloaked mage laughed lowly and dark, but got loud and menacing towards the end. He let the hood drop to reveal his scarred face. His eye had a patch over it and his arms were prosthetic. Gajeel flinched and looked away from the pathetic looking man.

"As you see, I've been in a lot of fights in my life. Why you ask? Why am I doing this? Well, because I can of course!" He cackled. "I can beat lowly guild wizards as yourself with a flick of my wrist. Being powerful is fun, so much fun!" Lucy clenched her bloodied fist and stood up. She shakingly grabbed the Leo key and held the key in front of her face. The man raised a brow at her. The dragon slayer only focused on getting out of the trap.

"You disgust me. Even I can admit fighting can be a fun thrill sometimes but you take things way too far! No one should die just because want to have some fun!" Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. "I open thee! Gate of the Lion, Leo!" Loke popped out pretty quickly, checking the blonde's wound. She insisted she was fine. Though Loke was always so protective over the mage, she did save his life anyway. He stood and looked at the dark mage with absolute rage.

"Lucy I'll handle-"

"No!" Lucy yelled, startling everyone. Even Gajeel stopped what he was doing to look at her. She grabbed her whip and cracked it on the ground for dramatic affect. "I won't be the little girl who sits on the sidelines anymore. Loke, I'm fighting with you and that's final." She held her upper arm in pain. She was still standing though, so she was still able to fight. Loke smiled down at her and nodded

"Okay, go for the feet!"

"Rodger!" Lucy did as she was told and wrapped her whip around the mage's feet. This caught the man off guard for a moment. Just enough time for Loke to punch him. Unfortunately, it seemed the mage was prepared for this. Loke screamed, standing there. Lucy looked at him in bewilderment as he just shook. Loke then fell on his back, he slowly disappeared, gold dust in its wake.

Lucy gasped as he kneeled down to Loke's body. He had a huge gash on his abdomen, no doubt it was the man with the scars. This fueled Gajeel's anger. He may not be all that attached to Loke, but it was Lucy's spirit. And no one messed with her spirits without serious consequences. Lucy let a tear drop on the lion man while he smiled and disappeared entirely.

It wasn't that he was dead or anything. But that hurt him, and Lucy hated to see any of her friends in pain. She cried in her hands, forgetting about the man who stood there with a dark look on his face. Like he had no remorse what so ever. This angered Gajeel to the point he was almost able to get free.

Lucy knew she was out of power. Without anywhere to call the last spirit to try, Aquarius, she was out of options. Maybe Capricorn, but the only thing he could do is stall. Lucy had no time to stall. If only Gajeel wasn't tied up. It was the the man knew how much more powerful Gajeel was compared to her.

She was then hit. Over and over and over again. The pain didn't let up, he just let his magic whip her as if she was nothing more than a burden, a weed in his way. She screamed but could not move, she was now out of power. The pain was almost too much to bare. Gajeel screamed for her to please runaway, but she silently refused.

Her breath became shallow. She could only hear, she could not smell, she could not see. The man kicked her in the stomach. She couldn't even scream anymore, this was worse than killing her. In fact, she would rather be killed than slowly tortured like this. Especially in front a friend she held dear to her.

She heard Gajeel's muffling screams, telling the man to beat him instead and to leave Lucy alone. She couldn't believe he said that. She smiled even through her now numbing pain. He has changed so much from what he was at Phantom Lord. Though the situation didn't change much, she was still being beat to pulp.

She grabbed the man's ankle and dug her nails into his skin. He didn't even flinch. When the fight started, they both could tell that this guy was incredibly powerful, as much as Laxus at least. He kicked her hand away and stomped on it. She felt no pain, all of it in fact, was ebbing away.

Her mouth dripped with blood, pooling around her head. Though she couldn't see anyway, she closed her eyes to rest. Maybe now she could finally sleep. She wished she could say goodbye to Gajeel at least. She really wanted to say bye to her team and hug them. She had no idea her life would be ending today. She should of had a huge party.

She laughed, she was going to die. The man stepped on her, whipping her legs raw with his magic. She assumed he went harder on her from her laugh. She felt herself smile. Tears streamed down her face like a river and she thought. She really had wanted to go on more adventures, eventually fall in love and get married, to have kids and raise them like Azlack and Bisca. To die from old age, but not regret a thing.

She slipped into unconsciousness. She felt as peace, more than she ever had.

Gajeel watched as her body stopped moving. He froze, his mouth hanging wide open. That's when a huge wave of anger and violence washed over him. He yanked so hard on the restraints they crumbled to nothing. He held his bloodied arms to his sides and he bent over. His breathing was heavy.

The man looked at him in surprise. "You got out? H-How, that is the strongest binding that I could create. It's stronger than steel iron!" Gajeel stocked up to him. Finally getting in front of him, he grabbed his scarred face forcefully and slammed it up against the wall.

"Well I have some news for you buddy," Gajeel whispered dangerously. "I eat steel for breakfast..." He smushed his face harshly, Gajeel could feel some bones cracking. He punched the man repeatedly with his iron club, using his iron dragon roar to hurl his silver attack at his face. He never gave the man a chance to even counter attack. He just berated him with his powerful moves.

After he finished, the dark mage was hurled by Gajeel far away. Where he could never lay a finger on Lucy ever again. Gajeel wanted to sit down, he wanted to, but he had more important things to tend to. He dropped by Lucy's body and immediately placed his two fingers on her neck to feel a pulse. Thankfully, it was there, but it was faint.

A tear fell from his eyes and onto her cheek. He couldn't believe he was crying over that stupid blonde. He yelled at the top of his lungs for Natsu and Wendy. Knowing that they could hear a sneeze from the other side of town. He warned them of Lucy's condition, so both of them would hurry. Not that he would admit it outloud, but he was sure that every dragon slayer (himself included) had some sort of attachment to the celestial mage.

They all cared deeply for her. Laxus, Sting, and even Rogue admitted it. They just said they could feel something when they looked into her eyes and saw the child like innocence that was held, despite her attitude. Though he didn't know about Cobra, but he assumed that even that villain liked Lucy to some extent. Natsu came first. He looked outraged.

"What happened!" He grabbed Gajeel's shirt and held it up. Gajeel scoffed and slapped the fist away.

"We were jumped Salamander! The bastard caught me off guard and had me tied up to that wall. It was like his magic was the strongest material I had ever felt, I could barely escape. He beat the shit out of her after she lost all her magic. She's alive, and that's all that matters."

"Where is he!"

"I threw him far from here. If he's even alive, he'll never want to come near Fairy Tail again." Wendy came shortly after, accompanying Laxus who looked just as worried, though he didn't show it outwardly like Natsu and wendy did. Wendy cried as she bent down. to start healing Lucy. Carla was there to console her while Happy bawled in Natsu's arms. Tears blurred the blue haired girl's vision, but she was able to focus.

"W-We need to get her back to the guild immediately." Wendy said softly as she wiped her eyes. Laxus grunted and picked up the blonde woman. They carried her back quickly, gathering eyes watched as Laxus stocked up to the infirmary. Erza and Gray ran to Natsu's side quickly. Gajeel stayed close to her as she was lowered down to the bed.

Wendy did as best she could to heal the woman. Wrapping bandages around her legs and head. Lucy's lip was torn open, dry blood crusting over the gash. Levy came in shortly after to hold Lucy's hand and offer moral support. "She needs at least a weeks rest before she even wakes up." Everyone nodded at what Wendy said. Porlyusica eventually came in to treat her as well, shooing out everyone in the room.

Natsu came in and our frequently, then going home with a huge frown on his face. Everyone worried for him and how he would feel. Lucy was his best friend after all. Gajeel took this time to walk up tot the infirmary and check on Lucy. He went to her bed and sat down in the chair next to her bed. She had an IV hooked up to her so that she would stay hydrated.

He grabbed her hand and wiped another tear that fell. "I'm sorry bunny girl. I'm sorry that I let you get hurt again. No matter what I do to make up for beating you in the past, no matter how fucking hard I try, you just end up getting hurt. Mavis, I'm pathetic." He wasn't one to cry often, but the sheer frustration of the situation couldn't stop the river of tears. He then felt the hand squeeze back. He gasped, she wasn't supposed to wake up for another week! She slowly opened one eye and gave him a small smile. Slightly wincing at some pain.

"I already...forgave you for that Gajeel," she gasped out. "Don't feel so bad, it wasn't even your fault. You big cry baby." She laughed, finally passing out once again. He stared in shock for a moment before the tears dried up and he smiled. Even in her pain, she managed to piss him off. She shook his head and pat her head softly.

She was alright, he chose to believe that. He knew first hand how much will she had. She walked out and left the guild, looked up at the sky, thinking about the time they both looked up at the stars while she taught him about constellations. It was the first time in his life that he wanted to protect anyone, besides Levy and Shadow Gear of course. Climbing up to the spot they were before, he watched the sun set.

He pointed to Lucy's constellation, Cancer.

Maybe he cared more about her than he originally thought. Not only will he protect her with his life now, he will treat her as his own, as a sister from birth. Just like he cares for Juvia.

He swears by it.


End file.
